
Kerala ex-CM and veteran Communist leader VS Achuthanandan suffers cardiac arrest, admitted to hospital in Trivandrum
VC Achuthanandan's has been admitted to the ICU and his condition is currently stable, as per multiple news reports.
Fondly known as VS, VS Achuthanandan served as Kerala's Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011 and held the position of Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly for 15 years straight.
In 1964, Achuthanandan left the Communist Party of India's (CPI) national council to become one of the founding members of the breakaway CPI(M), reported The Hindu.
According to Manorama Online, VS Achuthanandan has been away from active politics due to age-related ailments.
Hailed as Kerala's 'revolutionary sun' by his followers, VS Achuthanandan turned 101 last year October.
Born on October 20, 1923, into a worker's family in Punnapra, Alappuzha district, VS Achuthanandan studied up to Class VII before stepping into politics through trade union activism in the erstwhile Travancore.
Achuthanandan joined the State Congress in 1939 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1940. His commitment to the party came with significant hardships—he was jailed for over five years and spent nearly four and a half years living underground, as per PTI.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News18
an hour ago
- News18
India Planning To Ground Rafale Fighter Jets? PIB Fact-Checks Misleading Claim
Last Updated: The Press Information Bureau debunked claims by Pakistani YouTube channelthat India plans to ground Rafale jets. The IAF Rafale jets are fully operational. A Pakistani propaganda YouTube channel 'Global Times Pakistan' falsely claimed that India is planning to ground rafale jets following May's four-day conflict during Operation Sindoor, as per a fact-check issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB). The PIB Fact Check unit debunked the claim as fake and said that Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets are fully operational. The PIB highlighted that a Pakistani propaganda YouTube channel in its banner over a video has claimed that India plans to ground rafale jets. 'Is India planning to ground Rafale fighter jets? A Pakistani propaganda YouTube channel 'Global Times Pakistan' in its banner over a video has claimed that India plans to ground rafale jets. The claim made is Fake. Indian Air Force Rafale are operational," the PIB said in an X post. India is actively expanding its Rafale programme, not scaling it down. According to a recent update from PIB, the Indian government has finalised the procurement of 26 Rafale-M (Marine) aircraft for the Indian Navy in a deal estimated to be worth Rs 63,000 crore, in addition to the 36 Rafale jets already in service with the Indian Air Force. Four days of India-Pakistan clashes in May were the most serious confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and included air combat that involved dozens of aircraft from both sides. Following India's launch of retaliatory strikes in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan attempted to play down the offensive by alleging it had shot down three Indian Rafale jets, along with one Su-30 and one MiG-29. According to reports, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that five Indian aircraft were brought down and that several Indian soldiers had been taken prisoner, though he did not specify a number. However, the false propaganda of the neighbouring country was debunked by New Delhi. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
RSS trying to create ‘correct Hindu atmosphere' in Kerala, says Subhashini Ali
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to create what it calls the 'correct Hindu atmosphere' in Kerala, veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader Subhashini Ali has claimed. She was here on Saturday (July 27) to deliver a lecture in memory of writer-film-maker 'Chintha' Raveendran on the topic 'Manuvadi Hindutva – rewriting culture, history and right to equality'. 'The Manuvadi Hindutva project aims to destroy everything that makes Kerala unique – its strong syncretic cultural and religious forms and observances that weld various communities together in a common Malayali identity, its vibrant culture of progressive, avant garde literature, cinema, dance forms and theatre, its strong social reform renaissance movement that pushed back caste oppression, patriarchal dominance, feudal ways of thinking and brought about social transformation in the State, and its promotion of rational and scientific thinking and its history of struggle and sacrifice against both colonial and class exploitation,' she said. Ms. Ali said that Kerala had a very special place in the RSS agenda. 'Success in Kerala is of especial importance to the RSS, which [M.S.] Golwalkar described as a fortress of all three internal enemies of Hindutva – Muslims, Christians and the Communists. His commitment to the capture of this fortress is evident from the fact that he visited Kerala every year until his death,' she said. 'To make a dent in Kerala, the RSS decided fairly early that it should not concentrate on fighting elections and try to augment electoral gains steadily,' Ms. Ali said. She added that the RSS developed and honed its strategy of infiltrating different sections of society by various means to create a situation that could be used for achieving impressive electoral success. Hindutva organisations such as Desiya Seva Bharathi, Kerala Kshetra Samarakshana Samiti and Vivekananda Vedic Vision Kendra were being deployed for the purpose. Ms. Ali pointed out that for these organisations, their paramount mission was to bring about a foundational cultural transformation of society centred on a 'Hindu atmosphere' which, they believe, would naturally lead to the political and electoral preferences of people becoming solely confined to Hindutva politics. Ms. Ali described how the Hindutva organisations helped the BJP create an electoral impact in Kodangallur in Thrissur through their work and the activities around the Sree Kurumba Bhagavathi Temple there. She claimed that such a model had been sought to be replicated across the State through various temple activities and pilgrimages, and cited the agitation against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to visit the Sabarimala Temple as an example. The strong mobilisation that the reactionary forces could inspire, far beyond the strength of just the Sangh Parivar and its supporters, also needs to be understood, she added. Sharankumar Limbale, a Marathi writer, was presented with the 'Chintha' Raveendran Award for 2025. Functionaries of the Chintha Raveendran Foundation, such as N.S. Madhavan, among others, were present.

The Wire
3 hours ago
- The Wire
Bombay HC's Observations Smack of Political Bias in Line With Centre: CPI(M) on Gaza Protest Order
New Delhi: The politbureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned strongly the Bombay high court's July 25 order on the party's petition challenging the Mumbai Police's refusal to grant permission for a protest in solidarity with Palestinians, In a controversial order, the bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said, "You are looking at issues in Gaza and Palestine. Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism." "Ironically, the bench appears to be unaware of either the provisions of the Constitution which enshrines the rights of a political party, or the history of our country and our people's solidarity with the Palestinians and their legitimate right to homeland. The observations smack of distinct political bias in line with the central government," the CPI(M) noted. The party's statement highlighted two observations by the court: 'You don't know the dust it could kick up. Getting on to the Palestine side or the Israel side. Why do you want to do this? It's obvious, going by the party you represent that you don't understand what this could do to the foreign affairs of the country.' and 'You are an organisation registered in India. If you could take up issues like garbage dumping, pollution, sewerage, flooding. We are just giving examples. You are not protesting on those but on something happening thousands of miles outside the country.' The party said that these observations overlook the fact that Mahatma Gandhi in the 40s of the last century, the national movement and subsequent foreign policy of independent India "had not flinched from supporting the cause of Palestinian people's right to freedom and homeland." "It also lays bare the fact that the bench does not realise the unequivocal condemnation globally against Israeli action and the stated positions of the UN bodies and the International Court of Justice," the party said. "We appeal to the freedom and democracy loving people of the country to join us in unambiguously rejecting such a reprehensible attitude," it finally said.